Madder Root and More Experiments

As I mentioned before, Madder is one of my all time favorite natural dyes. I like red and I love saturated glowing colors, so Madder is very satisfying for me. The picture is a little fuzzy. Apparently there is a wasp trying to build a nest right next to my favorite spot to take photos and I could hear it buzzing around me which made me take the picture in haste.
I departed a bit from my usual light, medium, dark DOS dyebaths. This time I experimented a bit with the process. The skeins on the left have been dyed with Madder roots at 200% WOG* and an alum sulfate mordant. The lighter skeins in the middle are at 100% WOG. The skeins on the top right have been dyed at 100% WOG and I used alum sulfate with 6% WOG Cream of Tartar. The skeins on the bottom have been modified with iron. They are a bit more brown. It is hard to tell from the picture.
After getting the Madder root dyeing done, I dug around in my yarn stash for more yarn to play with. I mordanted a Merino wool yarn called Licorice Twist from Henry's Attic and I also mordanted a rayon chenille yarn with a metallic element to it. The rayon is a cellulose* fiber so it is mordanted with alum acetate. I will dye these in the leftover Madder root that has been steeped again to get more color out of them. I also threw in some buttons made from a nut and mother of pearl just for fun. In addition to all that, I have the Weld steeping for tomorrows official dye session. Should be a busy day tomorrow. Not bad for the longest day of the year. Joyous Solstice! Stay tuned. -Renee
*see glossary